Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 164

1.  

Mugeon Geomgaek abandoned her own broadcast and appeared on a public channel again.
Upon hearing the news, viewers swarmed like a swarm of bees.

• "Why is our leader on public TV again?"
• "Do the main broadcast already!!"
• "How is it that this guy is on public TV more often than top-level streamers?"
• "And now he's scheduled on some unknown new broadcast, which is even more annoying."
• "The viewer ratings are through the roof though."
• "Is he ditching us for new fish since he doesn't need the old ones?"
• "Wait, isn’t this a good thing for us?"
• "How is it a good thing when the person we should be watching is off on another broadcast?"
• "We’re just point-collecting beggars, but we did at least earn a bit through hard work."
• "Yeah, yeah."
• "So?"
• "If newbie players, who are even more poor than us, join in, maybe we can climb out of the bottom ranks of the caste system!"
• "Ohh."
• "Come on, this is a pyramid scheme."

The long-time fans of Mugeon Geomgaek, the self-proclaimed "space veterans," were excited to welcome the new viewers.

[So, try harder. Become strong enough to confess to me.]

They were shocked when they encountered Mugeon Geomgaek’s unexpectedly low standards for love.

• "Shock> Mugeon Geomgaek declares she will live her life solo forever."
• "Shock> Mugeon Geomgaek says no one in the current human race is worthy of dating her."
• "Shock> World-class S-rank Ascended start making wedding invitations, sparking controversy."
• "Stop it, you shockwave idiots!!"
• "Shock> A high-level S-rank Ascended, holding on to the American government, desperately begging not to leave, ends up visiting Korea!"
• "Korean national pride thumbnail, what the hell!"
• "Don’t make this kind of stuff, the media and V-tubers are wrecking the thumbnails."
• "Shock> You’re outside your capsule, laying your hand on it and crying."
• "No? My mom said her ideal man is someone stronger than me on the broadcast."
• "A guy who went crazy for the virtual world, turning even his mom into a virtual mama... that's a real filial son."
• "At this point, his mom must have erased him from her family registry, so he’s probably not even a true filial son!"
• "Virtual mama counteracting virtual filial piety, lol!"

Of course, most viewers, who could never imagine being stronger than Mugeon Geomgaek, quickly wandered off-topic. But a small number of skilled viewers began to get greedy.

• "This is interesting. I want to try it."
• "Mugeon Geomgaek. Is that woman really that strong?"
• "How do I prove I’m stronger than her?"

Mugeon Geomgaek’s name started spreading further, reaching higher places.

2.  

A powerful spark erupted from Lightning Man’s finger, attacking his opponent’s retina.

"Ah! My eye!"

As tears streamed down, he rubbed his eyes and opened them. The floor of the arena was littered with cracks from the lightning strikes.

"Do you want more? Next time, I’ll stick it into your body."

Tzzzz—
A lightning bolt erupted from Lightning Man’s fingertips, not even allowing a change in stance.

"Are you crazy? Of course, you should forfeit. You're ridiculously strong."
"There’s no surprise here! The winner of this match is Lightning Man!"

As the host, who was back to his main job (not really), passionately continued the commentary, Min Woo-sung felt his nervous heartbeat gradually settle down.

‘There’s no match as exciting as Gashingan and Mecha Samurai’s.’

It wasn’t that the tournament level was low.
It was just that those two were at such a high level.
Still, the excitement was inevitably dwindling.

• "I’m glad I didn’t have to face Lightning Man."
• "No one knows I’m the left leg of Eom Gil-dong, right?"
• "Why is there not a single decent restaurant around here? Even a soup restaurant would make a fortune."

As Min Woo-sung wandered among the contestants, trying to find anyone interesting, a suspicious thought crossed his mind.

• "It’s almost time for our team members to step in. Maybe we should start by cutting off one arm."

“?!”

A mindset clearly different from the other participants.
A dangerous thought that could never be considered good, making Min Woo-sung focus more.

<Ascended Ability - Mind Reading>
<Evolutionary Trait - Focused Surveillance (C)>

As Min Woo-sung boosted the output of his ability, the sound of something snapping and the change in the light from a jewel caught his attention.
The mental defense artifact, detecting the psychic ability, automatically triggered!
Min Woo-sung, realizing the response, hurriedly tried to cancel his ability, but before he could, his gaze met the other person’s.

• "I saw something I shouldn’t have."
  "!!"
• "Sleep. Until this tournament ends."

It was too late.
Before Min Woo-sung could grab the emergency button, his consciousness abruptly shut down.

Thud.

"Someone collapsed here!"
"Why is this person like this?"
"Oh, it’s Min Woo-sung. The winner of the last tournament."

The medical team quickly took Min Woo-sung to the tent, but no special issues with his health were detected.

"It looks like exhaustion from overwork."
"We gave him some vitamins, so he should rest until the tournament ends."

While Min Woo-sung fell into a deep sleep due to the medical staff's treatment, the suspicious person he had noticed earlier blended into the crowd and disappeared.

3.  

Although Min Woo-sung collapsed, the tournament proceeded without any disruption.

"I’ve hardly ever seen Manager Min Woo-sung resting. He was always busy, wasn’t he?"
"He was always on the phone with his screen phone. He might be busier than Manager So Gyeong-seok."
"Let’s work hard and take over Manager Min’s share. He’ll surely be happy!"

The naive staff members clenched their fists, determined to carry out Min Woo-sung’s duties.

"Blue corner, last tournament’s top 10 finisher, the Ice Sorceress, Do Ha-yoon!"

Do Ha-yoon entered the arena, holding her head high.

‘There were too many strong people last tournament. I even got betrayed.’

Recalling the humiliating elimination from the last tournament, Do Ha-yoon bit her lower lip.

• "Why do I have to climb this mountain?"
• "You devilish woman! Are you even human?"
• "What are you helping for? This is a martial arts tournament."

In the group that had been supporting each other, a sudden betrayal came from the sharp-eyed Isohye, who had turned into a snake!
While climbing a cliff, she was unexpectedly whipped from above, without even a chance to resist, and fell, only to be devoured by earthworms and eliminated!

‘I won’t be humiliated like that again.’

She was confident this time.
Unlike before, when both hands were blocked by climbing the cliff, this time she had no restrictions.

"Red corner, could this be another rookie to follow Mecha Samurai? The new player, Whisper, is entering!"

When Do Ha-yoon saw her opponent, her expression hardened.
Whisper’s sharp features, resembling the betrayer Isohye, who had made it big by becoming Mugeon Geomgaek’s manager, irritated her.

"Begin!"

Do Ha-yoon’s arms formed arcs, and from the path of her hands, she generated a mass of icicles around 30 cm in length.

<Ascended Ability - Ice Hand>
<Evolutionary Trait - Rapid Construction (D)>

"Blame your eyes if you want to blame anything. I really hate people with eyes like yours."

As Do Ha-yoon targeted the front, the icicles she created flew toward Whisper.
Wham!
Whisper’s cloaked body was pelted by the icicles and shaken violently from side to side.

‘Was that too much?’

After relentlessly attacking the nervous rookie, Do Ha-yoon regretted her excessive assault.

"52."
"What?"
"That’s your damage."

She was still being cocky.
Her brief hesitation now seemed foolish.
Do Ha-yoon’s hand roughly swiped through the air.

<Ascended Ability - Ice Hand>
<Combo Technique - Wingbeats of Benefit>

Swoosh!

Like a bird spreading its wings, ice wings grew larger.

"Oh? If you’re so confident to the point of evaluating, I guess I don’t need to go easy on you anymore."

With a powerful flap of her wings, the swirling blizzard of ice shards bombarded Whisper.

‘Am I going too far, and will the referees intervene?’

Regretting her overuse of her ultimate technique, Do Ha-yoon flinched when she noticed Whisper being battered without a chance to fight back.
As she attempted to reduce the intensity of her ice wings’ attack, something unexpected happened.

"Eh?!"

What was that?
Did she dodge using her ability?
Do Ha-yoon quickly turned, extending her arm backward.
She attempted to expand the range of her ice wings, hoping to detect her opponent.
But it was too late.
Her body suddenly froze, and a chill swept through her.
It wasn’t just a feeling.

"You’re dead."
"320."
"How did you—."
"The gap is absurd."

The sharpness in Whisper’s eyes became evident as she made her move.
With a single strike, Whisper's hand smashed down on Do Ha-yoon’s back.
The shoulder blade visibly crushed under the strike.
Do Ha-yoon, holding her right arm, collapsed forward but quickly rolled on the floor to regain her posture.

"The spacing of your shards and the gaps between surfaces are as sloppy as your heart."

Clenching her teeth, Do Ha-yoon swiped her left arm wildly to scatter ice, but Whisper walked toward her without even attempting to block.

"25."
"17."
"33."

As Whisper showed no sign of slowing down, Do Ha-yoon’s left hand slammed into the ground, and ice pillars erupted, freezing one of Whisper’s feet.

"200."

With those words, the ice shattered and scattered in an instant.
Do Ha-yoon’s eyes filled with fear.

"This is cheating. Someone like you can’t be a C-rank."
"Are you angry?"
"You’re violating the rules. This is ridiculous."
"Blame your weakness."

Whisper’s gaze grew more ominous.
Do Ha-yoon realized her focus was on her weakened right shoulder.

"You, you...! You’re going to break my arm, aren’t you?!"
"5500."

The hand vibrating with intense force was about to strike Do Ha-yoon’s shoulder.
At that moment...

Swoosh.

Like a light breeze carrying flower seeds, someone landed between them.

"The match is already over. Even if the Saint can heal any injury, there’s no need to attack unnecessarily."

The supervisor of the match, who had the authority to decide the outcome, and the chief supervisor, standing at the top of all referees.
Baek So-cheon, who had been overseeing the tournament in place of Ha Eung Eung, now stepped in directly.

"Or do you want to try your little number on me?"

As he grabbed Whisper’s fist and pulled it upward, all the destructive power meant to shatter Do Ha-yoon’s shoulder scattered into the air.